Cleaning - Best Way Of Doing So?

[Xenole]

Woke up earlier so decided to clean my Yaris.

Used some of that Supergard shampoo stuff that came with the car, buckets of hot water and a big sponge. Cleaned as much as I could get too (hard to reach under the sides and the arches leave the sponge black - need a pressure washer for those).

Went inside to change the water and on coming back out, half the car looked as mucky as before. The dirt seems to telport straight back onto in and not just in hard to reach places but say half a door is covered in clearly visible brown dirt.

Seems to be a heavier build up of dirt under the sider of the car. Won't wash off easily with the sponge - need to scratch it off with a finger nail or something, but what with the so-so paint job under there, reluctant to try too much in case I take the paint off by mistake.

Also found a tiny little chip on the passenger side :( Looks like something has hit it (about half the size of a small finger nail - black paint appears to have come off revealing a white bit - did think it was residual shampoo at first but definitely a scratch / chip) - noticable on a black car.

Keep getting the odd bit of flaky dried shampoo appearing at later stages around rims etc too.

As for waxing, how much are you supposed to use. I'm sure I exceed what the Meguires (sp?) bottle says. Is there a particular method to use? ie. Karate Kid wax on, wax off, or just rub backwards/forwars, bit at a time etc?

At least the car looks a lot cleaner now :)

[Demonic Angel]

A tip for car washing - dont wash your car in bright or hot sunlight, as you will get dirty streaks as it will dry too quickly not giving you enough time to rinse & chamois!

I clean my car with the hose and Turtlewax and then chamois it after - it leaves a glorious streak free shine - the trick is to chamois and make sure your leather is not old, otherwise it wont soak up the water properly and will streak.

You can get some touch up paint to sort that chip out - stone chips are so annoying, especially on dark coloured cars!

[earpl]

i usually jet the thick of it off then hand wash

[Al J]

Right at the top of each page is a link to the "car care centre". I don't know how long it's been up there but I've only just discovered it and there is loads of really helpful advice on looking after your car.

[ferrariboyuk]

If you wash in hot wether than just do it in sections at a time. ie wash one side, rinse and move on to the next, making sure that the water doesn't dry out too much.

NEVER polish or wax a car indirect sunlight or if the bodywork is hot.

Polish should be applied in a circular motion.

Use a different sponge for doing wheels and arches.

I clean my wheel arches with engine cleaner. Does a great job. Quick rinse, spray it on, rub with a brush and pressure wash off.

[ferrariboyuk]

ANYONE GOT ANY TIPS FOR REMOVING HIDDEN WATER FROM GAPS IN THE BODY WORK?

It really drives me mad when i dry it all then water gushes out from different places when i'm polishing, which really screws it up!

And when i drive off the door are marked with water thats been hiding in the door mirrors.

:ffs:

DOM

[Kal-El]

hidden water is hounded out by a very quick spin around the block after you have dried the majority of the car. once you pull up you can dry down the hidden water which should now be on your doors under the wing mirrors and also rear quarter windows, petrol cap, bootlid wiper arm etc.

[kimi]

hidden water is hounded out by a very quick spin around the block after you have dried the majority of the car. once you pull up you can dry down the hidden water which should now be on your doors under the wing mirrors and also rear quarter windows, petrol cap, bootlid wiper arm etc.

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yes thats the trick also drys out your brakes too stops them rusting.

[mx5rnes]

bad idea as the water will then have picked up grit from the air and you will scratch hell out of your paint

to dry your car use .........

a towel

dont wash your car in direct sunlight because.....

the sun is magnified by the water and burns your paint

use meguires because it is far superior to most other polishes

to get the best finish use clay to remove all the bonded on contaminants

any more questions ask

[cfc1]

Whats the meaning of life? :P

I agree, the clay is the best for removing the dirt that won't wash off

[Al J]

Whats the meaning of life?  :P

I agree, the clay is the best for removing the dirt that won't wash off 

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Yes, you must always know where your towel is! :D

I really must try clay one of these days.

[kimi]

bad idea as the water will then have picked up grit from the air and you will scratch hell out of your paint

to dry your car use .........

a towel

dont wash your car in direct sunlight because.....

the sun is magnified by the water and burns your paint

use meguires because it is far superior to most other polishes

to get the best finish use clay to remove all the bonded on contaminants

any more questions ask

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I agree with you in that going for a spin round the block can pick up dirt particles

but have to disagree with you on a few things ;)

DONT use a towel to dry your car,as it may pick up dirt in its fibres and you'll carry it all over your car and scratch it.

ALWAYS use a good quality chamios leather.

YOU CAN wash your car in the sun just takes longer as you do it panel by panel,sometimes you have no choice.

Meguires is good BUT superior to others no,there are other waxs as good as it.

clay is very good but i prefer using 3M bodyshop products.

as for your more questions................................

Whos going to win the Canadian grand prix?

[Kal-El]

I guess everyone does it differently...

I have zero scratches on my car and a spin around the block doesn't mean high speed super cornering driving, it means taking it easy to help the water out from the hidden places.

I use a towel but only for myself when i shower, with the car it's leather all the way.

And as for the question, when is series 5 of smallville gona start?

[jonny_brin]

After being intimidated by some of the really clean engine bays on here, bought myself some degreasing and cleaning spray. The pack contains two sprays, one of which degreases and the other which protects and brings up the shine. Says it can be used on all plastics, metals and rubber hoses, but the instructions say that after the first spray you're supposed to hose it down, is this wise? Sparying a hose into the engine bay, obviously it whould have the rose on the end to make sure it was a fine spray, but is this really okay to do?

Cheers

[Boro Sera]

In the car care link at the top of the page there's a whole section devoted to engine bay cleaning.

It's well worth a download. Answers all your questions.

( Al, the link has been up there for ages ! )

[Al J]

In the car care link at the top of the page there's a whole section devoted to engine bay cleaning.

It's well worth a download. Answers all your questions.

( Al, the link has been up there for ages ! )

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I had a horrible suspicion it may have! :D

[ferrariboyuk]

hidden water is hounded out by a very quick spin around the block after you have dried the majority of the car. once you pull up you can dry down the hidden water which should now be on your doors under the wing mirrors and also rear quarter windows, petrol cap, bootlid wiper arm etc.

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As mentioned, you do run the risk of picking up grit, maybe some roads are worse than others. I fear it too much to try. And the wings mirror water never comes out for me until i reach 50MPH or more.

Its so annoying aint it.

jonny_brin: They say you should cover all electrical cables before you rinse the engine bay. I dont really, but i do rinse it with the pressure washer turned off, it makes a fine mist. Water is bound to get in there naturally and go over the wires. I just dont spray them directly.

[jonny_brin]

Cheers, maybe when I'm done, I'll have some shiny photos to post too..

[seveer unaek]

Polish should be applied in a circular motion.

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Not if you have a dark car!! You can get away with it on lighter cars, but on darker cars you risk heavy swirl marks from circular polishing. You can apply a light circular amount, but it's best to finish with straight lines. This not only reduces swirl marks, but also ensures proper coverage of the paintwork.

ANYONE GOT ANY TIPS FOR REMOVING HIDDEN  WATER FROM GAPS IN THE BODY WORK?

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Either take it for a quick spin then wipe it off with a wet chamois (this ensures that grit doesn't affect anything as it is swept away easily) or wash and dry your car in the morning and polish it in the afty, or even the next day.

Also NEVER EVER use a towel for drying... unless it's a specially designed microfibre drying towel, you should always use a good quality leather chamois. And also... always dry your car! Don't let it streak as this causes it to look crap!

[ferrariboyuk]

Polish should be applied in a circular motion.

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Not if you have a dark car!! You can get away with it on lighter cars, but on darker cars you risk heavy swirl marks from circular polishing. You can apply a light circular amount, but it's best to finish with straight lines. This not only reduces swirl marks, but also ensures proper coverage of the paintwork.

Polishing with proper polishing clothes shouldn't leave swirl makrs should it????? Thought that was just is you use duster type clothes.

Surely if a cloth is gunna leave marks it'll do it whether you do it in circular motions or straight?

[seveer unaek]

Polishing with proper polishing clothes shouldn't leave swirl makrs should it?????  Thought that was just is you use duster type clothes.

Surely if a cloth is gunna leave marks it'll do it whether you do it in circular motions or straight?

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If somebody said 'swirl' to you what image comes up in your head?? A circular whirlpool type thing??!?! Yep... does in mine. Swirl marks are caused by tiny particles being swirled around in a soiled cloth or in a poor quality cloth. By polishing in lines, those particles don't move around as much and therfore they don't leave marks as easlily.

I read this on the internet somewhere and a guy on the meguires stand at the FCS told me this too... i have now recently seen that it's true too.

Good cloths, good polish and good technique = clean, shiny car!